Green Hydrogen

On October 5, 2022, the Treasury Department and the IRS issued notices requesting comments on different aspects of the energy tax benefits in the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”). All comments are due by Friday, November 4, either electronically on www.regulations.gov or alternatively by mail to the IRS. Written comments submitted after that date will be considered as long as such consideration will not delay the issuance of guidance.

In each case, the Notices focus on a subset of the IRA expanded and enhanced existing consumer and business energy tax credits and the new credits, including tech-neutral production and investment tax credits, a clean hydrogen production credit, a nuclear power production tax credit, and credits for producing necessary components for clean energy production, among others. The Notices solicit general comments, but also focus on specific definitional and operational issues. The requests emanate from, among other things, the new domestic production and sourcing requirements in the IRA, including requirements for sourcing critical minerals for the manufacturing of electric vehicles and for constructing certain qualified facilities using materials produced in the United States. Requests also arise in reference to the new two-tiered credit structure, where, for many of these credits, taxpayers are eligible for a higher credit (typically five times the base amount) if they meet certain wage and apprenticeship requirements. And one Notice focuses on the new direct pay or transferability feature for some credits, which essentially results in a cash payment to the taxpayer regardless of whether they have any tax liability in the year in which the credit is claimed.Continue Reading IRS issues notices requesting comments on IRA clean energy tax credits